Recording Media Cassette, Recording Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A recording media cassette includes a lower tray that stores recording media therein, and an upper tray that stores recording media therein and is mounted on the lower tray so as to be detachable from the lower tray.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to recording media cassettes that aredetachably mounted in the main body of an apparatus. Further, thepresent invention relates to recording apparatuses, such as facsimilemachines or printers, having a recording media feeding device that feedsrecording media from the recording media cassette.

2. Related Art

Sheet cassettes that are detachably mounted in the main body of anapparatus are commonly used. In particular, JP-A-2006-273565 andJP-A-2007-91445 disclose a detachable sheet cassette (tray) having adual-container configuration composed of upper and lower sheetcontainers. A sheet container that stores sheets therein in a recordingapparatus is generally called various names, including “cassette”,“tray” and so forth. In the following description, an entire unit thatis detachably mounded in the main body of the apparatus is referred toas a “cassette”, while each sheet container that is provided in thecassette is referred to as a “tray”.

In the sheet cassette having a dual-tray configuration as mentionedabove, an upper tray is slidably and rotatably movable relative to alower tray. The sheet cassette can be switched between a state in whichthe sheets can be fed from the upper tray and a state in which thesheets can be fed from the lower tray by slidably moving the upper tray.Further, a space for storing sheets in the lower tray is opened byturning the upper tray.

With such a dual-tray configuration of a sheet cassette, however, it isnot possible to remove the upper tray from the lower tray. Accordingly,it is not always useful for a user who does not frequently use the uppertray, since the upper tray reduces the capacity for storing sheets inthe lower tray. Further, an additional action to turn the upper tray isnecessary when loading sheets into the lower tray.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that the usability of asheet cassette having a multiple-tray configuration composed of upperand lower trays is further improved.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a recordingmedia cassette of a first example, which includes a lower tray thatstores recording media therein and an upper tray that stores recordingmedia therein and is mounted on the lower tray so as to be detachablefrom the lower tray.

With this configuration, the recording media cassette having amulti-tray configuration is composed of a lower tray and an upper tray.Since the upper tray is detachable from the lower tray, the capacity forstoring the recording media in the lower tray increases when the uppertray is removed, thereby further improving usability in using the lowertray. Moreover, a space for storing the recording media in the lowertray is fully opened when the upper tray is removed, thereby furtherimproving operability in loading the recording media into the lowertray.

There is provided the recording media cassette of a second exampleaccording to the first example, in which it is preferable the upper trayis slidably displaceable by means of a driving unit in a state in whichthe upper tray is mounted on the lower tray, the upper tray is in astate of being restrained by the lower tray when the upper tray islocated in an active area of the upper tray by the driving unit within aslidably displaceable area of the upper tray, and the upper tray isreleased from the state of being restrained by the lower tray when theupper tray is located in an inactive area of the upper tray by thedriving unit.

With this configuration, the upper tray is slidably displaceable bymeans of a driving unit, the upper tray is in a state of beingrestrained by the lower tray when the upper tray is located in an activearea of the upper tray, and the upper tray is released from being in therestrained state when the upper tray is located in an inactive area,thereby ensuring the upper tray to be slidably displaced in the activearea by means of the driving unit.

There is provided the recording media cassette of a third exampleaccording to any one of the first and second examples, in which it ispreferable the upper tray is slidably displaceable to a position outsideof an area for storing the recording media in the lower tray.

With this configuration, the upper tray is provided to be slidablydisplaceable to a position outside of an area for storing the recordingmedia in the lower tray. Accordingly, the area for storing the recordingmedia in the lower tray can be fully opened, thereby facilitating anoperation in loading the recording media into the lower tray to a greatextent.

There is provided the recording media cassette of a fourth exampleaccording to any one of the first to third examples, in which it ispreferable the upper tray is configured to be independently detachablymounted in the main body of a recording apparatus that performsrecording on the recording media in a state in which the upper tray isremoved from the lower tray.

With this configuration, the upper tray is configured to beindependently detachably mounted in the main body of a recordingapparatus that performs recording on the recording media in a state inwhich the upper tray is removed from the lower tray. Accordingly, therecording media can be fed from the upper tray without using the lowertray, thereby further improving usability.

There is provided a recording media feeding device that feeds therecording media in a fifth example, in which it is preferable therecording media feeding device includes the recording media cassetteaccording to any one of the first to fourth examples. According toanother aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording apparatusincluding a recording unit that performs recording on the recordingmedia, and the recording media feeding device according to the fifthexample. With those configurations, the same effect can be achieved asthat according to any one of the first to fourth examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view which shows a sheet transportation pathin a printer according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet cassette according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a section of an essential part of thesheet cassette according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of an edge guide according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of an edge guide according to oneembodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference toFIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view which shows a sheettransportation path in an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a“printer”) 1 which is an example of a “recording apparatus” of theinvention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet cassette 100 which isan example of a “recording media cassette” of the invention. FIG. 3 is aperspective view of a section of an essential part of the sheet cassette100. In addition, the rightward direction in FIG. 1 is a sheet feedingdirection, while a direction perpendicular to the sheet feedingdirection is a sheet width direction.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of an edge guide 52, showing astate in which a guide surface of the guide is at a normal position(first state) and a state in which the guide surface of the guide is atan elevated position (second state), respectively. Further, FIGS. 5A and5B are perspective views of an edge guide 52′, showing a state in whicha guiding height of a guide surface is at a normal position (firststate) and a state in which the guiding height of the guide surface isat an elevated position (second state), respectively.

1. Overall Configuration of Printer

An overall configuration of the printer 1 will be described below withreference to FIG. 1. The printer 1 includes a feeding device 2 in thebottom portion of the apparatus. The feeding device 2 is configured tofeed sheets (cut sheets in general) as an example of the “recordingmedia” one by one toward an output stacker (not shown in the figure)disposed on the rear side of the apparatus (left side in FIG. 1) after arecording unit 4 has performed recording (ink jet recording).

Components disposed on the sheet transportation path will now bedescribed in further detail. The feeding device 2 includes a sheetcassette 100, a pick up roller 16, guide roller 20 and a separation unit21.

The sheet cassette 100, in which a plurality of sheets P can be set in astacked state, is removably mounted in the main body of the apparatusfrom the front side with respect to the feeding device 2. The sheetcassette 100 includes two sheet containers, that is, a lower tray 50which is disposed on the lower side thereof and constitutes a base ofthe sheet cassette 100, and an upper tray 60 which is disposed above thelower tray 50 and is slidably movable between a feedable position and astand-by area.

In FIG. 1, the sheets stored in the lower tray 50 and the upper tray 60are denoted by P1 and P2, respectively (hereinafter collectivelyreferred to as “sheet P” as long as the sheets do not have to beindividually identified).

The pick-up roller 16 which is rotated by a motor (not shown in thefigure) is provided on a pivot member 17 that pivotally moves about apivot shaft 18. When the upper tray 60 has been slid to the rear-mostposition (in a retracting direction of the sheet cassette 100, which isthe leftward direction in FIG. 1), that is, when the upper tray 60 is ina stand-by area, the pick-up roller 16 comes into contact with theuppermost sheet P1 stored in the lower tray 50 and rotates so as to feedthe uppermost sheet P1 from the lower tray 50.

Moreover, when the upper tray 60 has been slid to the front-mostposition, which is the abutment position (in a mounting direction of thesheet cassette 100, which is the rightward direction in FIG. 1), thatis, when the upper tray 60 is in a feedable position, the pick-up roller16 comes into contact with the uppermost sheet P2 stored in the uppertray 60 and rotates so as to feed the uppermost sheet P2 from the uppertray 60.

When the upper tray 60 is positioned in the feedable position (as shownin FIG. 1), the separating slope 54 of the lower tray 50 extends towardthe leading end of the sheets stored in the upper tray 60 beyond thefront inner wall of the upper tray 60 such that the separating slope 54serves as a separation unit when the sheets are fed from the upper tray60. That is, the separating slope 54 of the lower tray 50 is used as acommon separation unit for the lower tray 50 and the upper tray 60.

A freely rotatable guide roller 20 is disposed at a position downstreamof the separating slope 54. Further, a separation unit 21 composed of aseparation roller 22 and a driving roller 23 is disposed at a positiondownstream of the guide roller 20. The separation roller 22 has an outerperiphery made of an elastic material and is capable of pressinglycontacting the driving roller 23 while being in a state in which apredetermined rotation resistance is applied by a torque limitermechanism. Accordingly, the subsequent sheets P are not permitted to befed with the uppermost sheet P passing between the separation roller 22and the driving roller 23, thereby preventing double feeding of thesheets P. The driving roller 23 is rotated by a motor, which is notshown in the figure, in the direction by which the sheets P are feddownstream.

A first intermediate feeder 25 is disposed at a position downstream ofthe separation unit 21. The first intermediate feeder 25 is composed ofa driving roller 26 that is rotated by a motor, which is not shown inthe figure, and an assisting roller 27 that is driven by the drivingroller 26 so as to nip the sheet P therebetween such that the sheet P isfed further downstream. In addition, reference numeral 29 denotes adriven roller that reduces a passing load which is generated when thesheet P (particularly, the trailing edge of the sheet P) passing along acurved turn-around path.

Further, a second intermediate feeder 31 is disposed at a positiondownstream of the driven roller 29. The second intermediate feeder 31 iscomposed of a driving roller 32 that is rotated by a motor, which is notshown in the figure, and an assisting roller 33 that is driven by thedriving roller 32 so as to nip the sheet P therebetween such that thesheet P is further fed downstream.

A recording unit 4 is disposed at a position downstream of the secondintermediate feeder 31. The recording unit 4 includes a transportationunit 5, a recording head 42, a lower sheet guide 39 and an output unit6. The transportation unit 5 is composed of a transportation drivingroller 35 that is rotated by a motor and a transportation driven roller36 that is supported by the upper sheet guide 37 so as to be in pressingcontact with and driven by the transportation driving roller 35. Whenthe sheet P enters the transportation unit 5, the transportation drivingroller 35 rotates so that the sheet P is fed downstream in an accuratemanner while being nipped between the transportation driving roller 35and the transportation driven roller 36.

The recording head 42 is disposed at the bottom of the carriage 40. Thecarriage 40 is actuated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, soas to reciprocate in a main scanning direction while being guided by acarriage guide shaft 41 that extends in the main scanning direction (thedirection extending across the drawing of FIG. 1 between the front sideand the back side of the drawing). In addition, the carriage 40 is of aso-called off carriage type in which ink cartridges are not loaded. Theink cartridges (not shown) are separately provided from the carriage 40,so that ink is supplied from the ink cartridges to the recording head 42via ink supply tubes (not shown).

A lower sheet guide 39 is disposed at a position opposite the recordinghead 42 such that a distance between the sheet P and the recording head42 are defined by the lower sheet guide 39. Further, an output unit 6 isprovided at a position downstream of the lower sheet guide 39 so as tooutput the sheet P on which recording has been performed.

The output unit 6 is composed of an output driving roller 44 that isrotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, and an outputdriven roller 45 that is in contact with and driven by the outputdriving roller 44 and is configured to output the sheet P on whichrecording has been performed by the recording unit 4 toward a stackerprovided on the front side of the apparatus, which is not shown in thefigure.

2. Details of Sheet Cassette

While the printer 1 is briefly described above, the sheet cassette 100will be further described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and3. The lower tray 50 is provided on the bottom 50 a with the edge guide51 (FIG. 1), which is slidably movable in the sheet feeding direction(that is, sheet length direction), such that the position of thetrailing edge of the sheet P1 is aligned with the edge guide 51.

Moreover, the lower tray 50 is further provided with the edge guide 52,which is slidably movable in a direction perpendicular to the sheetfeeding direction (that is, sheet width direction), such that theposition of one side edge of the sheet P1 is aligned with the edge guide52. The other side edge is aligned with a side wall 50 b (FIG. 2) of thelower tray 50. In other words, the side wall 50 b of the lower tray 50serves as a fixed edge guide.

A guide surface 51 a of the edge guide 51 that defines the position ofthe trailing edge of the sheet P1 is formed as a slope that issubstantially parallel with the separating slope 54 such that theleading end of a stack of sheets is aligned with the separating slope 54when the edge guide 51 abuts the trailing edge of the sheet P1. The edgeguide 52 that defines the position of the side edge of the sheet P1 willbe described later in detail.

A high friction member 53 is placed on the bottom 50 a of the lower tray50 at a position corresponding to the contact point between the pick-uproller 16 and the sheet P1. The high friction member 53 holds the stackof sheet during feeding of a sheet so that the whole stack of sheets isnot fed downstream by the pick-up roller 16.

Similarly to the lower tray 50, the upper tray 60 is provided with anedge guide 61 that is slidably movable in the sheet length direction andan edge guide 62 that is slidably movable in a sheet width direction onthe bottom 60 a. Further, a high friction member 64 is placed at aposition corresponding to the contact point between the pick-up roller16 and the sheet P2.

A movable mechanism of the upper tray 60 will now be described. Theupper tray 60 includes a slide member 65 and a tray base 66 such thatthe slide member 65 is slidably movable in the sheet feeding directionand the opposite direction with respect to the side walls 50 b and 50 cof the lower tray 50.

A tray base 66 is provided to form a space for storing the sheets. Thetray base 66 is rotatable about rotation shafts 66a on both sidesthereof in a direction indicated by the arrow r with respect to thesliding member 65. In addition, a rotation limit of the upper tray 60(tray base 66) according to this embodiment is greater than 90 degreesand smaller than 180 degrees. That is, when the upper tray 60 has beenturned to the maximum extent, a space for storing the sheets in thelower tray 50 is opened so that the sheets can be stored in the lowertray 50.

As shown in FIG. 3, a rack 65 a is formed on the lower side of one sideface of the sliding member 65 so that the rack 65 a meshes with a piniongear 55 that is provided on the lower tray 50. That is, the slidingmember 65 (the upper tray 60) is configured to be slidably displaced asthe pinion gear 55 rotates.

The pinion gear 55 is capable of meshing with a driving gear (not shown)provided on the main body of the printer 1, when the sheet cassette 100is mounted in the main body of the printer 1. The driving gear isrotated by a motor, which is not shown in the figure, thereby drivingthe sliding member 65 (the upper tray 60).

A locking member 65 b is formed on the sliding member 65 at a positionslightly ahead of the rack 65 a. The locking member 65 b is configuredto be put under a restraining rail 50 d that is formed on the lower tray50. When the locking member 65 b is put under the restraining rail 50 d(the locking member 65 b is on the A side with respect to the position Lindicated in FIG. 3, which is hereinafter referred to as “active area”of the upper tray 60), the rack 65 a meshes with the pinion gear 55while the locking member 65 b is put under the restraining rail 50 d,thereby restraining the sliding member 65 (the upper tray 60) so as notto be removed from the lower tray 50. Accordingly, the upper tray 60 isplaced at a position which permits feeding of the sheets from the uppertray 60.

On the other hand, when the locking member 65 b is ahead of therestraining rail 50 d without being engaged with the restraining rail 50d (the locking member 65 b is on the B side with respect to the positionL indicated in FIG. 3, which is hereinafter referred to as “inactivearea” of the upper tray 60), the rack 65 a is not meshed with the piniongear 55 while the locking member 65 b disengages the restraining rail 50d, thereby allowing the sliding member 65 (the upper tray 60) to beremoved from the lower tray 50 (as shown by the virtual line andreference numeral 60′ in FIG. 2). The inactive area of the upper tray 60according to this embodiment is a position at which the upper tray 60has been slid to the front-most position.

As mentioned above, the sheet cassette 100 having a multi-trayconfiguration composed of the lower tray 50 and the upper tray 60 isconfigured such that the upper tray 60 is removable from the lower tray50. Consequently, the capacity for the sheets in the lower tray 50increases when the upper tray 60 is removed, thereby further improvingusability of the lower tray 50. Moreover, the space for storing thesheets in the lower tray 50 is fully opened when the upper tray 60 isremoved, thereby further improving operability in loading the sheetsinto the lower tray 50.

In this embodiment, the upper tray 60 is slidably displaceable by meansof driving units such as the rack 65 a, the pinion gear 55 and a motorthat drives the pinion gear 55 (not shown). In addition to that, theupper tray 60 is in a state of being restrained by the lower tray 50 inthe active area of the upper tray 60, and the upper tray 60 is releasedfrom being in the restrained state in the inactive area. As a result,the upper tray 60 can be slidably displaced in a reliable manner withoutcausing disengagement of the rack 65 a from the pinion gear 55 in theactive area.

Moreover, although the upper tray 60, when in the stand-by position, islocated above the space for storing the sheets in the lower tray 50 inthis embodiment, the upper tray 60 may be configured in otherembodiments to be slidably displaceable to a position outside of thespace for storing the sheets in the lower tray 50 so that the space forstoring the sheets in the lower tray 50 can be fully opened withoutturning or removing the upper tray 60.

Furthermore, the upper tray 60 may be configured in other embodiments tobe detachably mounted in the main body of the printer 1 separately fromthe lower tray 50, so that the sheets can be fed from the upper tray 60without using the lower tray 50, thereby further improving usability.

3. Details of Edge Guide

The edge guide 52 that is provided on the lower tray 50 will be furtherdescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. As described above,the space for storing the sheets in the lower tray 50 increases when theupper tray 60 is removed from the lower tray 50, which enables theincreased number of the sheets to be stored in the lower tray 50.However, if a guiding height of the edge guide 52 that is provided onthe lower tray 50 remains the same, the sheets stored in the lower tray50 cannot be guided in an appropriate manner after the upper tray 60 isremoved.

Accordingly, the edge guide 52 that is provided on the lower tray 50according to this embodiment is configured such that the guiding heightof the guide surface is adjustable. More specifically, as shown in FIGS.4A and 4B, the edge guide 52 includes a base 52 a that slides along thebottom of the lower tray 50, an upright portion 52 b formed integrallywith the base 52 a so as to be mounted upright on the base 52 a, a platemember 52 c that is rotatable with respect to the upright portion 52 babout a rotation shaft 52 e and a biasing unit, which is not shown inthe figure, that biases the plate member 52 c in a direction indicatedby the arrow C1.

Reference numeral 52 d denotes the guide surface along which the sheetedge is guided. The guiding height of the guide surface 52 d isconfigured to increase as the plate member 52 c rotates in the directionindicated by the arrow C1, from a first state shown in FIG. 4A to asecond state shown in FIG. 4B.

More specifically, when the upper tray 60 is usually mounted on thelower tray 50, the plate member 52 c engages the bottom of the uppertray 60, that is, the plate member 52 c is pressed down, therebyretaining the first state as shown in FIG. 4A.

Then, when the upper tray 60 is removed from the lower tray 50 as shownby reference numeral 60′ in FIG. 2, the plate member 52 c disengagesfrom the upper tray 60. As a result, the plate member 52 c is rotated bya biasing force from the biasing unit and switched to the second stateas shown in FIG. 4B, thereby changing (increasing) the guiding height ofthe guide surface 52 d from h0 (FIG. 4A) to h1 (FIG. 4B) (h1>h0).

That is, the guiding height of the guide surface 52 d is adjustable andthe guiding height of the edge guide 52 increases as the capacity forthe sheets in the lower tray 50 increases, thereby enabling theincreased number of stacked sheets to be accommodated. As a result, thesheet can be fed in an appropriate manner without causing a feedingproblem such as skew feeding.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the sheet guide surface 52 d is formed bythe plate member 52 c that is rotatable about the rotation shaft 52 esuch that the guiding height of the guide surface 52 d can be adjustedby rotation of the plate member 52 c. Accordingly, a switching mechanismfor the guiding height of the guide surface 52 d can be achieved in asimple configuration at low cost.

In addition to that, the rotation shaft 52 e is formed to beperpendicular to the guide surface 52 d in this embodiment such that,when the plate member 52 c rotates about the rotation shaft 52 e, theedge of the sheets is aligned with a single surface of the guide surface52 d in both the first state and the second state. Accordingly, asmooth, flat or seamless guide surface is provided during setting of thesheets without causing a problem, such as that the sheet gets stuck, inboth the first state and the second state.

Further, since the guiding height of the guide surface 52 d decreaseswhen the edge guide 52 engages the upper tray 60 and the guiding heightof the guide surface 52 d increases when the edge guide 52 disengagesfrom the upper tray 60 in this embodiment, the guiding height of theguide surface 52 d increases without needing a specific operation.Accordingly, the sheet cassette with high usability can be achieved. Inaddition, the upper tray 60 according to this embodiment remains inengagement with the edge guide 52 (the plate member 52 c) when the uppertray 60 is mounted on the lower tray 50, regardless of the positionwhere the upper tray 60 is located in the slidable area.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment has been described that theguiding height of the guide surface 52 d is configured to be changedbetween two states, that is, a lower state (FIG. 4A) and a higher state(FIG. 4B), the guiding height maybe changed in a stepwise manner forexample by defining several height positions, or alternatively, theguiding height may be continuously changed. In such cases, it isdesirable to provide a holding unit so as to retain the predeterminedguiding height.

Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.The same configurations as those of FIGS. 4A and 4B are referenced bythe same reference numerals, while the configurations corresponding tobut different from those of FIGS. 4A and 4B are referenced by the samereference numerals with a prime mark.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B, the edge guide 52′ includes a base 52 a, an uprightportion 52 b′ formed integrally with the base 52 a so as to be mountedupright on the base 52 a, a plate member 52 c′ that is rotatable withrespect to the upright portion 52 b′ about rotation shaft bearings 52 fand a biasing unit, which is not shown in the figure, that biases theplate member 52 c′ in a direction indicated by the arrow C2. Therotation shaft bearing 52 f is a bearing that supports a shaft (notshown) formed on the upright portion 52 b′.

Reference numerals 52 d-1 and 52 d-2 denote guide surfaces along whichthe sheet edge is guided. In a first state shown in FIG. 5A, the guidesurface 52 d-1 formed by the upright portion 52 b′ constitutes a guidesurface of the edge guide 52′. The guiding height in this configurationis h0.

Then, as the plate member 52 c′ rotates in the direction indicated bythe arrow C2, thereby deploying the guide surface 52 d-2 that is formedby the plate member 52 c′ on the guide surface 52 d-1, the overallguiding height changes (increases) to h1 (h1>h0) from a first stateshown in FIG. 5A to a second state shown in FIG. 5B.

Accordingly, also in this embodiment, the guiding height of the edgeguide 52′ increases as the capacity for the sheets in the lower tray 50increases, thereby enabling the increased number of stacked sheets to beaccommodated. As a result, the sheet can be fed in an appropriate mannerwithout causing a feeding problem such as skew feeding.

Similar to the edge guide 52, which has been described with reference toFIGS. 4A and 4B, the edge guide 52′ of this embodiment may be configuredto retain the first state, which is achieved by the plate member 52 c′engaging the bottom of the upper tray 60, that is, being pressed down bythe upper tray 60. Accordingly, the first state is not limited to astate in which the plate member 52 c′ has been fully rotated downwardand is in close contact with the upright portion 52 b′ as shown in FIG.5A, but also may be a state in which the plate member 52 c′ has beenrotated to a certain extent in a direction indicated by the arrow C2from the state shown in FIG. 5A.

In addition, the plate member 52 c′ in the second state shown in FIG. 5Bmay be inclined to a certain extent toward the first state in order tofacilitate downward rotation of the plate member 52 c′ when the platemember 52 c′ is pressed down by the upper tray 60 in the state shown inFIG. 5B.

Furthermore, although the first state and the second state have beendescribed to be switched by means of the edge guides 52 and 52′ engagingwith/disengaging from the upper tray 60, a holding unit, for example,may be separately provided so that the first state and the second stateare retained by the holding unit and such retained state is released byan operation of a user.

Although the edge guides 52 and 52′ have been described as to guide theside edge of the sheets, it is needless to say that the above edge guidemay apply to an edge guide for the trailing edge of the sheets (shown byreference numeral 51 in FIG. 1).

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No: 2010-287063,filed Dec. 24, 2010 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

1. A recording media cassette comprising: a lower tray that storesrecording media therein; and an upper tray that stores recording mediatherein and is mounted on the lower tray so as to be detachable from thelower tray.
 2. The recording media cassette according to claim 1,wherein the upper tray is slidably displaceable with respect to thelower tray in a state in which the upper tray is mounted on the lowertray, and the upper tray is in a state of being restrained by the lowertray when the upper tray is located in a feedable position of the uppertray within a slidably displaceable area of the upper tray.
 3. Therecording media cassette according to claim 2, wherein the upper tray isslidably displaceable by means of a driving unit, the upper tray is in astate of being restrained by the lower tray, and the upper tray isreleased from the state of being restrained by the lower tray by thedriving unit.
 4. The recording media cassette according to claim 2,wherein the upper tray is slidably displaceable to a position outside ofan area for storing the recording media in the lower tray.
 5. Therecording media cassette according to claim 1, wherein the upper tray isconfigured to be independently detachably mounted in the main body of arecording apparatus that performs recording on the recording media in astate in which the upper tray is removed from the lower tray.
 6. Arecording apparatus comprising: the recording media cassette accordingto claim 1; a recording media feeding device that feeds the recordingmedia from the recording media cassette; and a recording unit thatperforms recording on the recording media.